December 1, 2016 - What do a Russian knockoff of an ‘80s toy, a hidden research facility, and talking stalks of corn have in common with one another? Erm, well, maybe you could play Maize, and let us know when you find out?

A first-person adventure that revels in the absurd with the gleeful abandon of a platypus in a pool of pudding, Maize is available today on Steam, GOG.com, and the Humble Store with a 10% launch discount.

Maize is super-immersive and brimming with visually dynamic interactivity. We’re not actually sure what that’s supposed to mean, but we’re pretty sure Maize has it. After all, how many games have puzzles involving talking corn, coat racks, nuclear fuel rods, and uncomfortably fast coffee trolleys?

I'm playing this. Maybe playing is too strong a word. So far, I have found a rock hard English muffin and a shovel handle and wandered aimlessly through the corn. I hope to figure out how to slow the forward movement and pan speeds down so that I can enjoy exploring. I may have to start over because I have already forgotten how equip myself with inventory. Darn, should have written it down.

Do you have to have an SSD Drive? It is listed as "additional notes" under recommended requirements but not under minimum requirements so I don't think so, but just checking in case I decide to try the game one day.

I started over, wrote down controls as they appeared on the screen, and have moved along briskly. This is an amusing game. Since I am galloping through now, I infer that Maize may be too easy for people who linger over hair-pullingly difficult puzzles that take weeks to solve which, actually, I do like even when I can't work out the the answers and decide to pretend to myself the problem is my lack of patience.

I've gotten only a few moments past rebuilding Vlady, so maybe the plot and puzzles are about to thicken.

Edited to add: Game did stay simple for another hour or so, however, it just killed me while I was trying to install a fuel rod in the Bob McTavish Commemorative Reactor and I expect it's going to do that several times.